look like a clinging vine? Do I need someone else to support me?” Jiang Ruotang was still very angry.

Lu Guifan shook his head, saying in a calm but very serious tone, “You don’t need to.”

You never need anyone’s support; on the contrary, you’ve given many people the strength to stand up.

“I’m clearly a towering…”

Jiang Ruotang originally wanted to say he was a towering tree, but he certainly wasn’t big enough yet.

“Alright, towering sapling, weren’t you going to eat pizza? Where is it?” Lu Guifan reached out and gently tapped Jiang Ruotang’s head, nudging him forward.

“I almost got full from anger.” Jiang Ruotang put his hands on his hips, a pose that Lu Guifan found both cute and amusing. “I regret it, let’s go back!”

“Go back for what?”

“Haven’t you seen those CEO dramas? I’m going to tell the manager in front of that greasy CEO — ‘Wrap up all the clothes… that fit our sizes, and send them home!’ Then I’ll flash my credit card!”

Lu Guifan asked again, “Did you bring a credit card?”

“Didn’t bring it… getting angrier…”

“It’s not worth it,” Lu Guifan gently stroked the little hedgehog’s fur.

After thinking about it, Jiang Ruotang cheered up again because Lu Guifan had been so nervous just now, surely rushing straight over to protect him as soon as he exited the subway.

“Let’s go, time for pizza!” Jiang Ruotang turned and smiled at Lu Guifan.

Lu Guifan paused. He didn’t quite understand how Jiang Ruotang could switch between anger and happiness so quickly.

But, he looked good when he smiled.

Lu Guifan seemed to understand why that man had ill intentions toward Jiang Ruotang, and also understood that he needed to become stronger.

In this world, just knowing math and science wasn’t enough; it couldn’t protect the people around him.

They went down to the basement, to the pizza place. Lu Guifan didn’t have any specific preferences for food, so Jiang Ruotang ordered.

While waiting for the pizza, Jiang Ruotang was still a bit annoyed. He posted on his Moments: This young master never fishes!

Some friends didn’t understand and just liked the post. Some comments were equally baffled, like Zhao Changfeng’s:

[Fishing for what? You only eat fish! And only the belly!]

Jian Sha: [Fishing is so boring, dragon hunting is better.]

Lu Guifan liked his post.

Jiang Ruotang immediately said gleefully, “Captured a Class Monitor!”

Lu Guifan smiled. For some reason, the word “captured” made Lu Guifan very happy.

But Mu Xianqing, being a man of the social circles, keenly sensed the meaning behind Jiang Ruotang’s post and immediately sent a message.

[Little Ancestor, where are you now?]

[I’m at Jinshang MALL eating with a classmate.]

[Who said you were fishing?]

Jiang Ruotang knew Mu Xianqing was concerned about him, but if he got involved, it would be like using a cannon to swat a fly, completely unnecessary. Besides, he had just gained Lu Guifan’s protection, which was a bonus.

Perhaps knowing Jiang Ruotang was hesitating, Mu Xianqing’s message came again: [Some matters still need an adult to handle. Some grievances don’t need to be swallowed; otherwise, it will make people think you’re easy to manipulate, understand?]

Jiang Ruotang knew that if he lost money in an investment or if his painting received bad reviews, Mu Xianqing wouldn’t care at all, because that was part of the growth process.

But some things were Mu Xianqing’s bottom line.

[When I was Browse in EC, I was mistaken for a student from Chengjiang Performance Academy.]

At this point, Mu Xianqing understood what was going on.

Soon enough, the EC store manager received a call. He kept nodding as he listened to the big boss, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, his expression growing more and more awkward. After a while, he approached Pei Qian and handed him the phone.

“Um, President Pei… Mr. Mu called, saying… he’d like a word with you if it’s convenient.”

Pei Qian frowned, thinking, Can any random person just call and talk to me now?

“Which Mr. Mu?”

“Uh… that Mr. Mu from the Deyitianxia Group, Mu Xianqing.”

As soon as Pei Qian heard that, his laptop almost fell to the ground. He quickly took the phone, repeatedly saying “Sorry, it’s all a misunderstanding” and so on. His young boyfriend had just emerged from the fitting room and saw Pei Qian bowing and smiling apologetically, as if a major bigwig was standing before him.

It wasn’t until the call ended that Pei Qian threw the phone back to the store manager: “Why didn’t you warn me? Why would an ordinary high school student come Browse here?”

Pei Qian didn’t realize that Jiang Ruotang was just an ordinary high school student who happened to be Browse.

Mu Xianqing’s words were concise and to the point, only saying that the high school student who had just been Browse in the store was a shareholder of his company, young, and didn’t understand social niceties, and asked President Pei to take good care of him.

Pei Qian pressed the corner of his eye. “Take good care of him” meant that this young man was absolutely untouchable. If he saw him, he’d have to walk around him, and it also implied that if anyone shared similar interests with him, he’d have to protect them too.

Deyitianxia was a powerful large group, and many film and television projects of Yunfeng Video needed investment from Deyitianxia. It was a veritable “sugar daddy” in the entertainment industry.

Pei Qian sighed. Where was I careless enough to take a fancy to a high school student? I clearly offended an ancestor.

At this moment, the pizza Jiang Ruotang ordered arrived, and the rich cheesy aroma made his mouth water.

Lu Guifan watched Jiang Ruotang pick up two slices of pizza, fold them into a roll, and pull a long string of cheese.

“When will the joint exam results come out?”

“About a month.”

“Then you still need to prepare for the Central Academy of Fine Arts’ entrance exam, and your cultural subjects have to keep up…”

Before Lu Guifan could finish, Jiang Ruotang suddenly stood up, leaning one hand on the table, and with the other, abruptly shoved the pizza into Lu Guifan’s mouth.

“Master, your disciple understands! Please, eat something!”

Lu Guifan leaned back slightly but still obediently opened his mouth and bit into the pizza.

When Jiang Ruotang pulled it back, a long string of cheese stretched out, unable to resist gravity, falling into an arc.

One end of this arc was at Lu Guifan’s lips, and the other end was the pizza in Jiang Ruotang’s hand.

Seeing the cheese about to fall onto the tabletop, Jiang Ruotang immediately reached out to support it, then wrapped the cheese all the way to Lu Guifan’s lips and broke it off.

Lu Guifan subconsciously licked his tongue out. Jiang Ruotang froze there, watching Lu Guifan calmly cut the crispy roast chicken.

But Jiang Ruotang was lost in the scene from moments ago.

He had read countless novels and comics, and he knew exactly how evocative that scene had been, even feeling a subtle warmth in his heart.

In Jiang Ruotang’s mind, Lu Guifan was like a jade sculpture enshrined in a temple, devoid of emotions. Who would have thought that the scene just now was so sensual that Jiang Ruotang almost wanted to go to the bathroom.

Lu Guifan looked at Jiang Ruotang, who was holding a pizza roll and hadn’t moved, and seemed to understand something. He reached out to him: “I bit it, give it to me.”

This reminded Jiang Ruotang. He bit it, how can I let him take it back?

“Between us, who’s who? I’ve already rolled it up like this, you should take a new piece.”

With that, Jiang Ruotang took a big bite into the part Lu Guifan had bitten.

They finished an entire pizza, a small roasted chicken, and some snacks, not to mention their happy drinks.

Jiang Ruotang contentedly rubbed his full stomach, then slowly looked at Lu Guifan, “Class Monitor, what made you think of coming to Jinshang MALL?”

Lu Guifan was direct, “I promised my mom I’d buy you something to thank you for introducing them to that job.”

“Hmm? Didn’t you already treat me to eel rice?”

Lu Guifan’s reply was precise, “But my mom’s budget included buying you a hat or clothes. Of course, you can choose other things if you like.”

Jiang Ruotang secretly smiled to himself. This Lu Guifan, he’s clearly trying to pick out a gift for me carefully, but he makes it sound like he’s just completing a task.

“Oh, what’s your budget?” Jiang Ruotang asked, lifting his chin slightly.

“One thousand.”

This was a token of Lu Guifan’s parents’ appreciation. If he really refused it, they would keep thinking about it.

“Then why buy things here? We should go to University Town; we could buy hats, scarves, down jackets, sweaters, and pants there.”

“But wouldn’t the quality of things in University Town be worse than here?”

“I’ll check the ingredients and style it myself. But… let’s not get me those. Since I can choose, how about you get me paints? I’m going to take the entrance exam for the Central Academy of Fine Arts in January. Practicing during this time will definitely use up a lot of paint.”

“Okay,” Lu Guifan smiled.

Because he had originally intended to give Jiang Ruotang paints or art supplies.

“Keep the rest of the money. Buy something when you need it. There’s no need to spend it all at once.”

“Mm.”

But if they weren’t shopping for clothes here, were they going straight home? If he had known Lu Guifan was buying him something, they would have met directly in University Town.

There, you could eat, drink, and have fun.

Since they were already out, Jiang Ruotang wanted to spend more time with Lu Guifan, but he didn’t know if Lu Guifan had anything else he wanted to do.

Like reading academic journals, practicing competition problems, or simply resting well?

Seeing Lu Guifan raise his hand to pay, Jiang Ruotang instinctively blurted out, “Shall we go to the arcade on the eighth floor for a bit?”

After saying it, Jiang Ruotang regretted it a little.

Lu Guifan was a model good student. Teachers didn’t allow students to go to arcades. How could Lu Guifan go with him?

Sure enough, Lu Guifan paused. Jiang Ruotang thought he was about to refuse, but to his surprise, the other person just took out his phone and checked the time.

“We have class tomorrow, so we can only play for an hour.”

“You… you’re willing to come to the arcade with me?”

Lu Guifan said calmly, “Mm. The arcade won’t eat people, why can’t I go with you?”

Jiang Ruotang smiled very happily, revealing his two little canine teeth.

---

They took the elevator to the eighth floor. Looking at the entrance of the “Game Center” adorned with colorful lights, Jiang Ruotang still asked with some uncertainty, “Are you really coming in with me?”

“Are you taking me into the red-light district?” Lu Guifan countered amusedly.

“Of course not.”

Jiang Ruotang smiled. Since they were only playing for an hour, he didn’t exchange too many tokens. They stored their coats and backpacks at the service counter.

With Lu Guifan, a gaming novice, Jiang Ruotang didn’t look for overly complicated games. He first took him to play very wholesome basketball shooting and air hockey.

According to Jiang Ruotang’s observation, Lu Guifan was the type who started cautiously. For example, when playing basketball, he wouldn’t care about the time limit. Instead, he’d spend one round adjusting his posture and distance, and once he got the knack, he’d start putting in effort in the second round, sinking every ball without a single miss.

Jiang Ruotang was shooting on the other side, still thinking of competing with Lu Guifan. But after just one round, Jiang Ruotang realized he wasn’t in the same league as Lu Guifan and resorted to inserting coins, collecting tickets, and cheering him on from the sidelines.

When playing air hockey, Lu Guifan was caught off guard by Jiang Ruotang in the first round. Jiang Ruotang put his hands on his hips and laughed heartily and carelessly. Then in the second round, Lu Guifan retaliated. Jiang Ruotang couldn’t defend several consecutive shots and almost lunged onto the table.

“Lu Guifan, bachelorhood warning, once,” Jiang Ruotang feigned anger.

Unexpectedly, Lu Guifan’s expression was quite serious. After thinking for a while, he said, “I’m not very familiar with the bounce lines and speed. I should be better after playing for a bit longer.”

“Ah? You win against me effortlessly, with one move. How much better do you want to be?”

“Enough to play a few more rounds with you, not the kind that leads to being single forever,” Lu Guifan bent down and gestured to Jiang Ruotang with his chin, meaning “again.”

Oh my god, he’s so annoying.

Everyone else wants to win quickly and decisively, but Lu Guifan is thinking about how to lose spectacularly…

But it must be said, once Lu Guifan started “going easy,” Jiang Ruotang’s physical exertion increased. His competitive spirit made Jiang Ruotang fiercely determined to go straight for the win, but Lu Guifan always deflected him effortlessly, like four ounces against a thousand pounds. The two went back and forth, rivaling the amount of exercise in a badminton class.

After playing air hockey for a while, Jiang Ruotang grabbed the tickets and dragged Lu Guifan to play a motorcycle racing game.

This one was more intuitive and easy to understand. Jiang Ruotang was very happy that he won three or four rounds against Lu Guifan, and his self-esteem was finally compensated.

But when they played the fifth round, Jiang Ruotang belatedly realized that Lu Guifan had actually been letting him win the whole time!

The principle was like a bubble chase. Lu Guifan created a sense of urgency for Jiang Ruotang by chasing him from behind, then let Jiang Ruotang pass before the finish line, allowing him to experience the joy of escaping.

Jiang Ruotang exhaled, leaning on the motorcycle and looking at Lu Guifan beside him, thinking: You really have potential as a playmate!

Lu Guifan still had that expressionless look, pushed up his glasses, looking like a bookworm.

“There are a few more tokens, let’s play something else.”

“Okay,” Lu Guifan nodded.

Jiang Ruotang silently covered his heart. Does he have to be so well-behaved? I’ll really want to adopt you.

The two walked around the arcade. Jiang Ruotang didn’t want to take him to play any fighting games. A couple was standing at the claw machine, and he and Lu Guifan would look like two third wheels. So…

“Hey, let’s go play the dance machine?”

“I don’t know how to dance…”

Before Lu Guifan could finish, Jiang Ruotang grabbed his wrist and dragged him away.

“You don’t need to know how to dance, just how to jump!”

It wasn’t the weekend, so the dance machines weren’t crowded. Even if they danced clumsily or missed beats, no one would laugh.

Jiang Ruotang chose the learning mode for Lu Guifan, explained the rules, and then picked the left side for Lu Guifan and the right side for herself.

“When the beat drops, gold pours in!” Jiang Ruotang immediately started moving.

“Huh?” Lu Guifan was still a bit confused, missing several beats.

He looked at Jiang Ruotang on the other side, her steps full of rhythm. Her bangs bounced up and down, revealing her forehead, and her eyes were focused on the screen.

Perhaps feeling Lu Guifan’s gaze, Jiang Ruotang turned her face and said, “Hurry up, you’ve missed so many! You’re going to lose!”

“Oh.”

Jiang Ruotang truly thought Lu Guifan was a bookworm, at least the high school version of him. His good badminton skills were a complete surprise. But today, she discovered that Lu Guifan was the type with incredibly strong learning and adaptability, a true late bloomer who quickly surpassed others. Before long, the learning mode was no longer a challenge for him, and they could even PK in the beginner mode.

Playing the dance machine was quite addictive. Their tokens ran out, but Jiang Ruotang was still craving more. Just as she was about to suggest playing longer, Lu Guifan spoke up first: “Wait for me here for a bit, I’ll go get some more tokens.”

Jiang Ruotang immediately nodded like a woodpecker. Who said Lu Guifan was boring? Wasn’t he fun and engaging?